Our Statement of Faith
THE SCRIPTURES
We believe that the Bible is the Word of God; that It was written by men who were moved by the Holy Spirit so that their writings were supernaturally and verbally inspired and free from error, as no other revelation of the will of God to man, and so are the supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. We believe the King James Version is the present Word of God for English-speaking people.
THE TRUE GOD
We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
- God the Father – We believe in God the Father, perfect in holiness, boundless in love, infinite in wisdom, measureless in power. We believe that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayers, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ, His Son.
- God the Son – We believe in Jesus Christ, God the Son, pre-existent with the Father, begotten by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, sinless in His nature and life, infallible in His teaching, making atonement for the sins of the world by His substitutionary death on the cross. We believe in His bodily resurrection, His ascension into Heaven, His perpetual intercession for His people, and His glorious second advent according to promise. We believe that the promise of His second coming includes: first, “The Blessed Hope” of the believer, namely, the personal premillennial, and pretribulation return of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, to rapture His church according to I Thessalonians 4:13-18: second, His return with His saints to set up His millennial reign.
- God the Holy Spirit – We believe in the deity and personality of the Holy Spirit. We believe that He came from God to convince and convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; and to regenerate, sanctify, indwell, comfort, and empower those who believe in Jesus Christ.
MAN
We believe that man was created in the image of God, that he sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death, but also that spiritual death which is separation from God. We believe that all human beings are born with a sinful nature, and in the case of those who reach moral responsibility, become sinners in thought and deed by choice.
SATAN
We believe in the reality and personality of Satan.
SALVATION
Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, Who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense, salvation includes regeneration, sanctification, and glorification.
- Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God’s grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Saviour. Justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer into a relationship of peace and favor with God.
- Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God’s purposes, and is enable to progress toward moral and spiritual perfection through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate person’s life.
- Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed.
THE CHURCH
We believe in the visible local church which is a company of believers in Jesus Christ, baptized on a credible confession of faith, and associated for worship, word, and fellowship. We believe that to these visible churches was committed for perpetual observance, two ordinances: the baptism of believers by immersion and the Lord’s Supper. We believe that God has laid upon these churches the task of preaching the Gospel to every creature, and the edification of the individual members of the Body of Christ.
BAPTISM AND THE LORD’S SUPPER
Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a church ordinance, it is a prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.
THE LORD’S DAY
The first day of the week is the Lord’s Day. It is a Christian institution for regular observation. It commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should be employed in exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private, and by refraining from worldly amusements, and resting from secular employments, work of necessity, and mercy only being excepted.
LAST THINGS
God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised, and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever in heaven with the Lord.
ASSURANCE
We believe in the eternal security of the believer (John 10:27-29).
CHURCH AND STATE
We believe that every human being has direct relations with God, and is responsible to God alone in all matters of all faith; that each church is independent and autonomous, and must be free from any interference by any ecclesiastical or political authority; that, therefore, the church and state must be kept separate as having different functions, each fulfilling its duties free from the dictation of patronage of the other.
EVANGELISM AND MISSIONS
It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations. The new birth of man’s spirit by God’s Holy Spirit means the birth of love for others. Missionary effort on the part of all rests thus upon a spiritual necessity of the regenerate life and is expressly and repeatedly commanded in the teachings of Christ. It is the duty of every child of God to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by personal effort and by all other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ. (Gen. 12:1-3; Matt. 9:37-38; 28:18-20)
EDUCATION
The cause of education in the Kingdom of Christ is coordinated with the causes of missions and general benevolence and should receive along with these the liberal support of the churches. An adequate system of Christian schools is necessary for a complete spiritual program for Christ’s people.
STEWARDSHIP
God is the Source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual; all that we have and are we owe to Him. Christians have a spiritual debtorship to the whole world, a holy trusteeship in the gospel, a binding stewardship in their possessions. They are therefore under obligation to serve Him with their time, talents, and material possessions; and should recognize all these are entrusted to them to use for the glory of God and for helping others. According to the Scriptures, Christians should contribute of their means cheerfully, regularly, systematically, proportionately, and liberally for the advancement of the Redeemer’s cause on earth. (Matt. 6:1-4)
CHRISTIAN LIVING
We believe that every saved person should manifest the Christ-life in a consistent walk in the Holy Spirit, fully and constantly yielding his members to the indwelling Christ, so that he may always, in life and word, show forth the praises of Him Who has called him out of darkness into His marvelous light. We believe in a separated life for all believers as set forth in II Corinthians 6:14-7:1.
CHURCH FINANCE
The church accepts the Scriptural method of “tithes and offerings” as its plan of finance. All members are encouraged in their Biblical responsibilities to systematically give to the glory of God and to underwrite the church budget by giving at least 10% of their income into the church budget. The church may use any other method of finance that the church shall determine as necessary by a majority of the members present and voting at any business meeting called for that purpose.
THE HOME
We believe that the Scriptures teach that God created male and female and ordained the institution of marriage. We reject the practice of a man and woman living together as husband and wife without actually being husband and wife. We also reject the idea of same-sex marriage as being acceptable or anything other than what the Bible states it to be.
